EBCE to Provide Aid for Medically Dependent Customers Facing Power Outage Threats

Nov 28, 2019

East Bay Community Energy (EBCE) has approved spending $500,000 for a program to support customers with medical need for reliable electricity. The EBCE board approved the expenditure at its Nov. 21 meeting.

The board’s action is intended to help people whose lives and health depend on electrically-powered devices. The money will be spent on identifying Alameda County customers with such medical needs to come up with a solution, so they are not left at risk in power blackouts.

The action came as a response to the Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) that can impact EBCE customers. PG&E turned off power several times in October, leaving almost 1 million accounts and 3 million people bereft of electricity.

More than 1,000 of those customers were on PG&E’s Medical Baseline program, which serves people with special energy needs because of a medical condition. EBCE has 10,000 Medical Baseline customers, which means they require special notification when power shut offs may occur, and provides them special privileges if they are at risk for being disconnected for lack of payment.

EBCE is a not-for-profit public agency energy program for Alameda County and eleven incorporated cities, serving more than 550,000 residential and commercial customers throughout the county. EBCE began service in June 2018 and is one of 19 community choice aggregation (CCA) programs operating in California. CCAs are expediting the climate action goals of their communities and those of California. EBCE is committed to providing clean power at competitive rates.

For more information about East Bay Community Energy, visit https://ebce.org/